


I Am (Not) Your Father

by Varewulf



Series: SE.RA.PH. At Peace [4]
Category: Fate/Extella, Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Family Drama, Fluff, Gen, Hints of yuri, Silly, let Nero fuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 01:30:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15474504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varewulf/pseuds/Varewulf
Summary: Another new Servant arrives on SE.RA.PH., and Saber Alter is the one who finds them. But how will their encounter turn out?A more silly take on the stuff in my little Extella series. Not really relationship focused, so I didn't tag anyone, even though they're there. I could have tagged Salter/Mordred I suppose, but it might be a little misleading as to the content.





	I Am (Not) Your Father

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I still put *that* tag on every fic that has Nero in it.
> 
> I had expected to return to this setting eventually, but I hadn't expected it to happen quite like this. But once this idea started to grow and take shape in my head, I knew it was too late to escape. At least I can blame @lilbrattybun on Twitter for it this time.
> 
> I'll admit I know very little about Mordred and what his personality is like. What I know is: He will kill you if you call him a girl, he doesn't like praise or insults directed towards his father, he once hissed at a cat, and he can be bratty. I honestly don't even know if he uses he/him pronouns, but it makes sense to me. I'm damned sure not trusting the Fate Wikia on this point. Though it's not like the Fate/ canon particularly cares, and I care even less about the Fate/ canon unless it's something I like. So here we are. Everyone's much happier if we don't worry about it.
> 
> I enjoy the idea of Artoria Alter mellowing out a bit in her own way, so that was another part of what made me want to write this fic. Give her something to care about. It's fun to write something a bit sillier again as well.

The Wastes. The part of SE.RA.PH. that was still empty, and waiting to be filled in. The area where new lands would grow, and new things would appear. Including new life, and occasionally new Servants.

Saber Alter Artoria Pendragon had not been out here since she got erroneously summoned to this place. There was nothing out here for her, so she had no reason to come here. Except this day a feeling had compelled her to come out here. She did not know the origin of this feeling, but her soul told her she had no reason to doubt it. Nor did she have any reason to heed it, yet here she was.

As if guided by some invisible force, it did not take her long to find what she was looking for. Who she was looking for. She had not known this was what she was looking for until she saw them. A figure clad entirely in silver armour, with no part of their body showing in the least. Even the eye slits were impossible to get a glimpse through. Some bits of red cloth adorned the suit, along with lines and patterns in bold red on the armour itself, giving it a very distinct look. Two large horns stuck out from the sides of the helmet.

New Servants appearing in the Wastes was a very rare occurrence, so perhaps that was why she had been able to sense them coming. Or perhaps there was a different reason.

Artoria herself had not bothered putting on her armour, she was simply clad in the black dress she had been gifted, and had grown accustomed to. There was nothing here that made her feel threatened.

Even when the figure drew their sword, and spun to face her, she did not so much as flinch.

"Who goes there?!" A gruff voice demanded.

Artoria did not respond, but instead kept walking closer until she was about five metres away from the figure. There she stopped, and gave her target a casual glare.

The figure's movement indicated surprise, though their guard did not drop for an instant. After a minute of this silent stand-off, the figure spoke again.

"Dad?" Their voice sounded less gruff now.

"No," Artoria said quite simply.

"But... you are King Arthur?" the figure asked, sounding confused and uncertain.

"Yes," Artoria confirmed. "But not _your_ King Arthur."

* * *

Kishinami Hakuno was taking the opportunity of a free spot in her schedule to get some sun. Whether it was possible for these digital bodies to get a tan was a different matter, but it still felt nice. So she had put on her favourite bikini that Nero had picked out for her, put on sunglasses, and gotten onto a sunbed.

There were two other sunbeds there as well. On her right was Nero, dozing on her stomach. The emperor's top was untied, but trapped under her hefty bosom. Hakuno wondered if it was truly comfortable to lie like that with a chest that big. Not that she'd ever know for herself. Nature had not seen fit to bless her in that department.

On her left was Tamamo no Mae, who had put up a parasol to shield herself from the sun. The fox might not be interested in tanning, but she didn't want to be excluded either. And she was confident she looked really hot in her bikini, so it was worth showing off for her beloved.

"Kishinami." A familiar voice called out, and Hakuno opened her eyes. As she had thought, it was Artoria Alter, but she was not alone. A figure entirely covered in armour stood beside her. That had to be uncomfortable in this heat.

Hakuno removed her sunglasses. "Salter, who's this?" she asked.

Artoria's eyes narrowed. "I told you not to call me that."

"I know you did," Hakuno said, and showed a friendly smile.

"I could cut you down," Artoria warned.

"I know you could," Hakuno said, unfazed.

Artoria glared at her for several seconds. "You're infuriating," she said after the pause.

"Thanks, I love you too~" Hakuno teased, and smiled even wider.

Artoria blushed, and looked away while grumbling something unintelligible. She could be really cute.

"Now, who's this?" Hakuno asked again.

Artoria fixed her with another glare. "This is Blue Saber's son. I picked him up in the Wastes," she said in a flat tone.

"H-hey!" The figure objected.

"You make it sound like he's a dog." Hakuno felt amused. She moved her eyes over to look at the new arrival. "So... your son, eh?"

"No," Artoria said. " _Her_ son."

Hakuno's gaze moved back to Artoria. "Then why were _you_ the one who went to pick him up?" she asked with a sly smile.

"That's..." Artoria's composure only wavered for a second, but the pause didn't go unnoticed. She hadn't really thought about that. "Because she's terrible," was the answer she gave.

"Hey, don't talk about my dad like that!" The figure protested.

" **Silence**." It was just a single word, but Artoria turned her regal tone up to max for it, and it carried weight like a mountain. The figure fell silent, but Hakuno could tell they were still upset under there.

"Anyway," Hakuno cut in again. "Welcome to the neighbourhood, son," she said to the figure. "Feel free to let us know if you need or want anything. Maybe some lighter clothing?"

"Uh... thanks..." the figure responded. It was understandable if they were confused about all of this.

"And thanks for the introduction, Salter," Hakuno said to Artoria.

The glare returned. "I did not do it for you," she said, and started walking off.

"W-wait." The figure hurried after her. "Your Master?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," Artoria replied before the two of them got out of earshot.

Nero turned her head to look at Hakuno. "I'm glad to see you're getting along a lot better these days, Praetor," she said.

"She can be a very sweet and cute girl," Hakuno said earnestly.

"Umu!" Nero exclaimed happily.

"You two are both weird," Tamamo said from under her large straw hat. That she still wore, even with the parasol up. "Not that I'm criticising you at all, my sweet Husband! I like weird!"

Hakuno felt content. It was a nice day. She put her sunglasses back on, and eased back down on the sunbed.

Though having another red Saber might get confusing. She wondered if Nero and the new guy would have to duel for the title. That would be a sight.

* * *

Artoria stopped, and turned to face the person behind her. "Why are you still following me?" she pointedly asked.

Mordred stopped too. "Well..." He was no longer wearing his suit of armour, having instead been given some denim shorts and a light top, much more suited for the warm weather. He really did look remarkably similar to his father. The same face, same eyes, and same hair, though set in a different style: A rather messy ponytail. The resemblance was a little annoying to Artoria, but she wasn't so petty as to let that affect her judgement.

"I'm not your actual father," Artoria said coldly.

She was starting to regret having picked Mordred up, as he wouldn't stop following her around. Or if he did stop, it wasn't for long. This had been going on for days. She had waited to confront him until they were somewhere away from the crowd. Assuming that he would still follow her if she went into the palace, she had turned out to be right.

"But you're just like her," Mordred said.

" **I. Am. Not.** " Artoria's voice rumbled. She was offended at the very notion.

Mordred visibly flinched, then turned to the side. So he could make a statement about turning away, but she could still see him sulk. What a petulant child.

Still, Artoria felt an uncharacteristic stab of pity towards him. He might not technically be her son, but she was well aware of the relationship between him and Blue Saber. Calling it 'not good' was putting it mildly. Yet Mordred still seemed to think fondly of his father in many ways. If this was a failing of her counterpart, perhaps Artoria Alter could do better.

"I shall prove it to you. I shall be your new father," she stated. Where Blue Saber had fallen short, Saber Alter would rise to success.

Mordred looked shocked. "Huh? Really?"

"Of course. I never jest," Artoria said definitively.

Mordred's expression lit up. "Can I call you daddy?" he asked.

"No."

"Okay, daddy!" Mordred grinned.

"I said: **No**." Artoria leaned into the regal tone.

Mordred squeaked. "O-okay, father."

Artoria allowed herself a smile. Surely parenting couldn't be that hard. Still, what was she supposed to do, exactly? Probably whatever Blue Saber hadn't. The first thing that came to mind was going over, and giving her newly acquired son a hug. Her counterpart would have never done that.

Mordred froze. "H-huh? Uh? W-what?"

"There there, son," Artoria said, and awkwardly patted Mordred on the back. Maybe she had been around the people in this place for too long to even come up with something like this. But maybe the bigger surprise was that this felt kinda... nice.

* * *

Blue Saber Artoria Pendragon stood atop a cliff, and looked out across the land. Just because the realm was currently in a state of peace, it didn't mean that her role as a sentinel suddenly ceased. The balance had to be upheld. She still had to be watchful for threats to the Moon Cell, and any clashes between Servants that might cause collateral damage.

Speaking of, she could hear a boot crunching the dirt behind her. Though she had sensed the arrival of this person from far off. They had a connection, after all.

"So you have finally shown up to do battle?" she called out as she turned around to face her counterpart: Saber Alter. She had expected this day would eventually come as soon as Alter had shown up in SE.RA.PH. That it had taken this long was a miracle.

Artoria Alter's armour was like a twisted mockery of Artoria's own. Dark, harsh, and menacing. Their swords were twisted reflections of one another. The hostility emanating from her Alter was about what Artoria had expected. The glare was intense. Though she had not drawn her sword yet.

"In a sense," Alter said in a cold voice. "I have come to tell you to spend some damn time with your damn son."

Artoria blinked. "What?"

Another armoured figure came running up behind Alter. "W-wait, father, you really don't have to- oh, hey dad!"

Artoria was lost. "... what?"


End file.
